The Love of a Father
by phanpiggy
Summary: Mostly ALW based with some elements of Susan Kay's novel. I had this random idea for a one-shot. I was thinking, what if Erik's late father could come down to Earth for awhile and talk to his son? I thought it would be interesting, so please R and R!


**This is a completely random idea, but I just had to make it into a one-shot! **

**By the way, this is mostly ALW phantom, but has elements of Susan Kay's book. So, if you haven't read that book, you may find this fanfic a bit confusing.**

**I don't own Phantom… Enjoy!**

* * *

"That is not permitted, Charles, you know that."

The man, Charles, continued his plea to God, "Just for a couple of hours, please!"

"Charles," the kind and divine voice spoke, "I know that your live was cut short, but I cannot let you go back down to Earth, even if it is for just a couple of hours."

"I just want to see my son, Lord. I beg you."

"Ah yes, Erik… The poor child thinks that I've abandoned him… He's lost his faith along the journey through his rough and sorrowful life… You watch him often, don't you, Charles?"

"…Yes, I can't help but to worry about my only son… Even though I'm in Heaven, it puts me through Hell to see him suffer like he does. He's been through so much more than one person should have to endure… I worry for his soul, Lord… My son's been lost in darkness his entire life and if I can't be there for him to bring light to his life on Earth, then I at least want to ensure that his soul will find light and not dark in his next life."

"…You have made quite a point, Charles… You are a determined man… I will grant you two hours back on Earth to talk with your son… After those two hours, you shall return to my heavenly kingdom and your son shall remember your conversation with him as nothing more than a dream. Hopefully, that 'dream' will be enough to save his soul, for he is not beyond redemption."

* * *

I sat at my organ bench, idly playing a melody with one hand. Everything was dark, except for the few flickering candles which glistened off to the sides of my vision. I was completely alone as I always have been.

Tiredness fell over me and I laid my head down on the keys, using my arm for cushion.

Not long after I began to drift off, I was startled awake by a blinding white light that suddenly flooded the underground cavern in which I had made my home. Squinting my sore eyes, I scanned the area for any sign of where the light was coming from.

As I searched, I realized that the light was getting closer and brighter.

"Who's there?" I demanded.

The light faded into nothing more than a soft, golden glow surrounding an odd figure which hovered slightly above the water of my lake. The figure didn't move at first, giving me the chance to examine the figure closer.

It was a man, tall and well-built with dark wavy hair and emerald eyes. No, it wasn't a man. Men couldn't float in the air and they certainly didn't have wings. The wings that the man-like figure had were magnificent, white-feathered and silky looking. I almost wanted to reach out and touch one of the wings…

The figure moved, and yet, I was not afraid of it. I felt a strange sense of calm and warmth.

"Good evening, Erik," the winged man's voice was low and reassuring.

He reached out toward me, yet I didn't move away as his hand brushed over my cheek. At least, I _saw_ his hand glide over my cheek, but I didn't _feel _anything. It was as if the man before me had no physical body.

"H-How do you know my name?" I tentatively questioned, "And who are you?"

The man glided through the air over to my desk.

"… Amazing," he whispered as he examined a few of my paintings on the desk, "They are wonderful to see so close up."

I turned angrily on him, "I said, who are you?"

"My, my," the figure mumbled to himself, "Such a short temper… Must have inherited that from your mother…"

He continued, this time, speaking directly to me, "The proper question for you to ask me would be who _was _I. In life, I was a stonemason and was married to the most beautiful woman. She was to have a baby boy soon before I died… My name was Charles Destler…"

Charles Destler? That was my father's name… He died only a couple months before I was born…

"It's great to finally meet you face to face, my son."

"I'm not your son! Now tell me who the hell you are!"

"And what would make you believe that I'm your father? If I told you that I know that you were born on July 12th, 1837 in Boscherville… You ran away from your home and your mother, Madeleine, when you were only six years old… You were captured by Gypsies and forced into a freak show which you lived in for three years before you were rescued by Madame Giry and brought here to the Opéra Populaire… Since then, you have become the Fantôme de l'Opéra and the Ange de la Musique to Christine Daaè…"

This man claimed to be my long-dead father… He knew things about me that no one else would know…

"So, let's say I do believe you… Why are you here then?"

The winged man chuckled, "I see you're very paranoid as to my real identity… Oh well, better to be suspicious than to be a gullible fool."

"Why are you here?"

The man's face turned from jovial to completely solemn.

"I worry for your soul, my son… You've committed some unspeakable crimes…"

"So what? I'll burn in Hell where a hideous creature like me belongs! I bet you're disgusted by the fact that your son turned out to be a monster hardly deserving of live! Mother wanted a beautiful, perfect child to remind her of her late husband, but she got me instead. I tried to be good enough for her! I wanted her to love me, but how could she love something so appalling? I could never be the son she wanted… That's why I ran away… I just wanted her to be happy…"

"My wife, Madeleine, was young and blind… She couldn't look past your insignificant flaws to see how beautiful you are on the inside…. She wanted a son who looked like me. She just couldn't see that her son resembled me in every way."

I choked a laugh at this, "Looks like you? I'm anything but handsome."

One second, I was standing by my desk looking at my father, and the next thing I knew, I was staring at myself in one of my many mirrors… How did the cover come off this mirror by itself? I'd always keep a drape over my mirrors so I wouldn't have to see my hideous face…

But I wasn't looking at myself… At least, not my regular self… The image that stared back at me in wonder was me, except without any distortion upon the right side of my face… My right side duplicated the good side of my face perfectly… I reached out and touched the cool glass, sliding my fingers down the surface… I was handsome…

The winged figure appeared behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You see? All you have to do is find the beauty underneath and you will see that you and I aren't so different after all."

The similarity between us was astounding… Until the handsome image in the mirror faded back to my usual, masked self.

"I'm proud of you, my son… You've grown to be quite an extraordinary man… A musician, a composer, an artist, a magician, a designer… You even took after me and are quite gifted in architecture… My son's a genius… I'm quite fond of this _Don Juan Triumphant _of yours… It will be the most brilliant piece of music ever created once it's finished."

I sighed, "What's the purpose of my vast knowledge when I can't be a part of the world and share my wisdom? All because of this curse!"

I viciously tore off my mask and stared at myself in the mirror angrily before breaking it with my bare fists until there was nothing left but hundreds of broken shards scattered about, reflected tiny images of my distorted face.

The winged man glided forward and took my bloody hands in his. My hands felt strangely warm and I realized that they were healing… All the cuts and broken shards of glass in them had disappeared.

"Everyone has a purpose in life, Erik. You just need to find your reason for being here. You weren't given your inhuman amount of knowledge for no good reason… God has a plan for you."

"Then why has he let me suffer so much?"

"Human kind is free to do as they please, even if those things are unspeakably horrendous… It's the light in everyone's soul that decides their fate after they spend their short time on this Earth… The light in your soul shines brightly. Your heart is capable of so much love… You've just never got the chance to show the good in you before."

"I've still done horrible things that can't be forgiven."

"God forgives, Erik. The question is, if you had a second chance, would you still have committed the wrongs that you have? Would you not rather have a clean, untarnished soul?"

"Of course I would, but I can't change the past… My wrongdoings will haunt me forever."

"Erik, my child, if you ever want to find peace, you have to let go of the past and move on to a better life. Yes, you are right in saying that you cannot change the past, but you can start over, in a way, and atone for your sins, choose right instead of wrong."

"How can I do that?"

"That is up to you to decide… Perhaps your saving grace is through that woman you love, Christine Daaè… From what I've observed, she seems to feel love for you. You just need to stop being a ghost and start being the kind-hearted man I know you can be."

My father began to fade away into the same bright, white light he came in.

"What's happening?"

"I cannot stay much longer, my son. It was wonderful to meet you."

"You too… father."

"I'm confident that you'll figure everything out in the end… And do a favor for me—visit your mother. Tell her how much I love her."

The faint image that was left of my father came down in front of me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, my son… I'll be watching over you," is what he said before vanishing into the air…

* * *

"Did everything go well, Charles?"

God spoke to the angel who was reclining on a cloud, watching down on the Earth with a gentle smile.

"Yes, my Lord. I think Erik will be just fine."

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Okay, that's it! Please REVIEW! And read my other fanfic, "To Love A Ghost"… It's a lot different than this one, but still awesome if you like E/C pairing!


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